CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Among World’s Most Ethical Companies for Third Straight Year

Baltimore, MD (March 09, 2015) - CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) has been named to the Ethisphere Institute’s list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the third time in as many years. The award, announced today by Ethisphere, recognizes CareFirst’s compliance practices, culture of ethical behavior and its place as a leader in corporate social responsibility throughout the mid-Atlantic region and health insurance industry.

CareFirst is one of just three companies representing the health insurance industry on the list of 132 corporations worldwide.

“Ethical behavior and integrity are deeply rooted in our culture and day-to-day business practices,” said CareFirst President and CEO Chet Burrell. “We are honored to receive this recognition for a third time.”

When compiling this year’s list, Ethisphere reviewed thousands of nominations from companies across the globe. The methodology for determining the World’s Most Ethical Companies includes:

  • Reviewing codes of ethics, litigation and regulatory infraction histories;
  • Evaluating investment in innovative and sustainable business practices;
  • Looking at activities designed to improve corporate citizenship; and,
  • Studying nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers and customers.

“The World’s Most Ethical Companies use ethics as a means to further define their industry leadership and understand that creating an ethical culture involves more than just an outward facing message or a handful of senior executives saying the right thing,” said Timothy Erblich, Ethisphere’s CEO. “Earning this recognition involves the collective action of the entire workforce from the top down. We congratulate everyone at CareFirst for this extraordinary achievement.”

More information on the methodology and the complete list of the 2015 World’s Most Ethical Companies is available on Ethisphere's website.

CareFirst first received the designation in 2013, along with 138 corporations representing 46 industry sectors. Receiving the designation again in 2014, CareFirst was one of just five health insurers recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.

“This recognition is a direct result of the ethical culture CareFirst employees put into practice every day,” said Todd Cioni, CareFirst Vice President and Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer. “We are honored to again be named to Ethisphere’s list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, and we will continue to seek out opportunities to ensure our program remains effective, dynamic and engaging.”

About CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

In its 78th year of service, CareFirst, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit health care company which, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to 3.4 million individuals and groups in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. In 2014, CareFirst contributed nearly $55 million to more than 300 community programs designed to increase the accessibility, affordability, safety and quality of health care throughout its market areas. To learn more about CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, visit our website at www.carefirst.com or follow us on Twitter.

About Ethisphere

The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with the publication of Ethisphere Magazine and The World’s Most Ethical Companies Executive Briefing. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs. More information about Ethisphere can be found at: http://www.ethisphere.com.